As I mentioned in my Fury Class Interceptor review, I’m a fan of the game and I’m excited to see this build come to market! I’ve even tried to scratch build this myself, so I’m excited to see how LEGO put it together.

It’s hard to believe that the original UCS X-Wing (7191) was released 13 years ago. I can’t wait to see the differences.

UPDATE

LEGO has posted the designer video on YouTube:

The change to the wings is huge. If the 7191 set had a problem, it’s the gear mechanism that is in place to hold the wings open. They give out and eventually you can’t close the wings. I like the scissor mechanic that the new one uses. The new cockpit is also welcome and the engines look super cool.
Here’s the official press release:

10240 – Red Five X-wing Starfighter Ages 16+. 1,558 pieces. Build the ultimate LEGO Star Wars X-wing Starfighter! US $199.99 CA $249.99 DE 199.99€ UK 169.99 £ DK 1699.00 DKK Collect and create the most highly detailed LEGO® Star Wars X-wing Starfighter ever produced. This iconic starfighter is featured in many of the most exciting Star Wars battle scenes, including the decisive battle scene above planet Yavin. Recreate the moment when Luke Skywalker’s X-wing delivered the proton torpedo that led to the destruction of the Imperial Death Star! With 1,558 pieces, this realistically detailed model features opening wings and cockpit, a special display stand, data sheet label and R2-D2.

Includes R2-D2 atromech droid

Features highly authentic detailing, and opening wings and cockpit

Includes 1558 pieces

Measures over 10″ (26cm) high, 20″ (52cm) long and 18″ (46cm) wide

Includes display stand and data sheet label!

Available for sale directly through LEGO beginning May 2013 via shop.LEGO.com, LEGO Stores or via phone.

$200 though!

]]>https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/news-ucs-x-wing-10240-revealed/feed/0draddog20130215-204124Review: Razar’s CHI Raider (#70012)https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/review-razars-chi-raider-70012/
https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/review-razars-chi-raider-70012/#respondSat, 05 Jan 2013 04:42:09 +0000http://clutchpower.wordpress.com/?p=312As mentioned in my review of Laval’s Royal Fighter, Primus (of BrickCommander), is the set designer for Razar’s CHI Raider. Long time friends, I am thrilled to be able to build his first official LEGO sets. Razar’s CHI Raider, or as I call it, the Raven Mech, rings up at $40 and I’ve been told it’s exclusive to a few stores in the US. The set comes in numbered bags and is built over two books.

Co-Build Rating: 4/5

This is one of those rare sets which is a great co-building experience. Multiple books and numbered bags make it easy to split up the workload. So often sets of this size will have sub-builds that are just lame or quick to build. With the CHI Raider each builder can work on components that really add to the overall set. The head, body, legs, wings and tail are all add to the overall aesthetic of the set. The mini Eagle Temple and Eagle Cannon are meaty enough to provide satisfaction for builders.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Let’s face it, Primus is known for his big robot builds, so you have to expect great things from an official Mech set. This set doesn’t disappoint. It resembles a raven walking along the ground (appropriately enough), but has enough mechanical pieces to clearly be a robot.

Each foot has two articulated toes, making the Mech very stable. I was surprised to see that the waist did not rotate, something Primus’ MechWarrior builds tended to have, but it does not detract from the overall set.

The cockpit is actually really well done. The beak opens and closes, adding to the play factor. One of the best features of this set is the fact that one of the raven mini-figs can sit in the cockpit with it’s wings on. The mini-fig’s wings slide behind the roll bar cage, meaning you don’t have to attach and reattach the wings all the time.

The torso of the Raider looks to be a huge power plant, big turbine engines sit right behind the head. Two Chi tubes run from front to back, providing the juice for the Raider. The tubes are not new, though the two toned look is still very cool. Two sets of flick fire missiles plug in on either side. I will say that these feel like last minute add-ons. They add some playability, but they just feel out of place. The other odd thing about this set is the big whole in the back of the torso. Something (including a mini-fig) can go back there, but as the set is presented, it’s just a big empty space.

Finally, the wings and tail add to the overall look and feel. It’s hard to imagine this thing flying, but they are necessary to the overall look and feel. They are endlessly positionable, however, and really add to the play value.

The set all comes with a small Eagle Temple and Eagle Cannon. The temple is kind of neat, holding a Chi crystal. The cannon is a clever little build and a bit of a surprise. Normally we would expect to see some type of vehicle.

The three mini-figs are nice, though I don’t really understand the raven’s long pole weapon. Maybe some type of finglonger?

This is a great set at the price point. It’s fun to build and has some really neat play features. It’s definitely a recommended buy.

Legends of Chima is the new big theme for 2013 and was originally suppose to replace Ninjago. However, LEGO recently announced that they would continue to produce Ninjago (at least set wise, no word on the cartoon). LEGO has made a bad habit of discontinuing popular sets (Bioncle for example) to roll out new themes. I’m pleased to see them finally come to their senses and keep producing popular lines, though I’m curious to see how they will support both Ninjago and Legends of Chima at the same time.

Legends of Chima (LoC from now on) focuses on “animal tribes” who use CHI to power their weapons and vehicles. The vehicles are fashioned to resemble the animal of the tribe – Lion heads and Eagle talons are abound. The mini-figs come with ‘masks’ which cover over the normal round mini-figure head.

We are attracted to this line for several personal reasons as well. LEGO Universe (which I worked on) was originally going to have a Chima expansion (at least as far as I knew). It would have made a really cool addition to the MMO.

Also, two sets in the initial release were designed by a close, family friend – Primus of Brickcommander.com. Primus actually worked on LEGO Universe with me and now is a full time set designer at LEGO in Billund. Having built many of his ‘Mechs and star ships, I have been looking forward to building and playing with his first “official” LEGO sets.

The first of his sets is Laval’s Royal Fighter. Laval is the main lion character (and likely one of the main characters in the cartoon). You can also check out this Designer Video featuring Primus himself!

Co-Build Rating: 4/5

This was an okay set to build together. One builder can work on the chassis (mostly technic parts), while the other can build the head, back and gun. The set is fairly modular and goes together well. The bags are also numbered and the instructions spans two books. It’s a relatively small build, two people just make it that much quicker.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Cracking open bag one starts you building the mini-figures. The first thing that may throw you, if this is your first LoC set, is the fact that the round mini-fig heads are printed on two sides but are then immediately covered with animal heads. It didn’t make sense until I realized that kids will lose the animal heads. This keeps the mini-figs playable. I also have to call out Laval’s sword, which is simply really cool. I have a thing for cool looking swords though.

The rest of the build is fairly straight forward. Most of the Fighter is technic, with a very cool brick built lion head. A small gun platform which spins, raises up from the back. I thought maybe the spinning motion would fire some missiles, but it’s just there for effect. We also found the tension on the treads to be a little tight – they did not want to spin without a good deal of effort. With a bit of fiddling, I suspect they can be loosened up.

There are not a lot (if any) new pieces in this set – I couldn’t identify any at least. There are a lot of orange pieces, if you have the need.

The set is okay but feels like it’s lacking in details overall. I would have liked to see more going on in the back of the tank, or at least re-positionable treads. I suspect that some features were cut to make a price point. The set rings in at $39.99 – around .09 cents a piece which is normal, so we’ll just have to take what we can get.

While nice, I know Primus’ other set is so much better. Wait until it drops in price some or has a discount, then pick it up to give Laval his sweet ride.

]]>https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/review-lavals-royal-fighter-70005/feed/0draddog70005-1Review: Swarm Interceptor (#70701)https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/review-swarm-interceptor-70701/
https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/review-swarm-interceptor-70701/#commentsSun, 09 Dec 2012 05:42:03 +0000http://clutchpower.wordpress.com/?p=290Galaxy Squad is the latest addition to the LEGO Space line. The theme of humans versus alien space bugs is similar to the 1998-1998 Insectoid’s line. The Swam Interceptor is the $20 small set coming with two minifigs, an alien flyer and the Swarm Interceptor and lot’s of playability.

Co-Build Rating: 4/5

This set comes in two numbered bags: the first builds the minifigures, the alien flyer and the cockpit of the Swarm Interceptor. The second bag builds the rest of the Swarm Interceptor. It can be built by two people (one taking each bag) and goes together quickly. Not a true “co-build” experience as we have defined it, but good enough for two people to build together.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

The Swarm Interceptor is piloted by Solomon Blaze. As with most recent minifigures, his face is double sided. One side has a determined look, while the other covers the mouth with a breathing unit. The torso is printed front and back with a cool battle vest. The color palette of the minifigure is similar to the Alien Conquest sets of last year, but with more gray.

On the alien side we have a mosquitoid, which comes with a new head. Meant to resemble a mosquito, the head has two small antenna that plug into holes in the head (I expect these will go missing for a lot of people).

Also new in this set is the minifigure’s wings. Presented in a transparent green, they are molded to appear very organic and mimic bug wings. It’s ray gun is capped off with a clear pink 1×1 round plate. This piece is common among many of the alien craft and weaponry.

The alien flyer makes interesting use of two black light sabers as guns. A jackhammer piece functions as a control stick. One of the cooler pieces is the 4×4 wedge plate in transparent green. It gives the small ship an organic feel. Otherwise this is your standard “small ship” fair that often accompanies a set of this side or could be found in a polybag. It gives Soloman something to attack, but it doesn’t seem like much of a challenge.

The Swarm Interceptor itself is a nice build. There are no real surprises in the cockpit, and it’s a quick and sturdy build. A small pair of wings on the sides pivot out, converting the cockpit into a “speedy flyer”. It’s very swoopable and there is some play value here. Two front mounted guns are detachable and can be used as hand guns, another carry over from the Alien Conquest line.

The turret section has some interesting pieces. Available in a pair of this year’s City sets, the turret includes the new “H. Plate Bot. 2X4 W. Ø4.85 H.” and “Hinge Pl.Top 2X4 W.Ø4.85Hole” pieces. If you don’t know what these are, imaging 2×4 plates with a hinge on one end. Basically they make for larger, sturdier hinges. In the Interceptor, they are used to open up a back panel that contains a pair of flick fire missiles. Solomon can stand on the back of the turret and “fire” the missiles at incoming alien bugs.

The turret connects to the cockpit with a single technic axle which is pinned through three 1×2 bricks with holes in the middle. This allows the cockpit to spin freely when connected to the back of the ship (as shown in the picture to the right).

Personally, I didn’t like this feature. It’s neat to play with, but it makes the model feel unstable. It’s easy to fix though – get a 1×2 brick with a cross hole and replace the middle 1×2 brick in the turret. This locks the pin into place and stops the cockpit from randomly spinning.

Overall this is a nice set. It has some nice elements reminiscent of the Insectoid’s line while managing to stand on it’s own. Some of the new elements will also be attractive to more advanced builders. The very loose swivel mechanic is the only real downside to this set.

Given the relatively low price point of $19.99 (US), this is a good set to see if Galaxy Squad is for you.

The Galaxy Squad Vermin Vaporizer is one of the larger sets in theme. Coming in at $59.99 US, the set continues on the split function of this theme, breaking into a “battle buggy” (to quote Shop at Home), a mech and a laboratory. Also included is an Alien scorpion and three minifigures.

Co-Build Rating: 4/5

This set is made up of many separate models, lending itself well to co-building. Sam built the alien Scorpion and the mech, while I did the Vermin Vaporizer. You are building side by side (which is good), but you are not working on the same model together.

Overall Rating: 4/5

You first build the buggy, which does not have a lot going on. It goes together pretty easily. While part of the split function play feature of this theme, you wouldn’t want to get caught out in the open in this. I like the use of the modified bricks that make the front and back of the buggy.

Next is the Alien scorpion walker, which is decent, if a bit small. It has the pink highlights that appear on other alien craft. It’s distinct tail includes a golden lightsaber at the end, which is neat if you need gold lightsabers.

One of the big surprises was seeing LEGO put the Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Handle on End – Closed Ends pieces jutting out from the corners. Sure they are sandwiched in, but it was interesting to see this technique.

The lab itself is very impressive. It not only looks solid, it builds solid. The finished model rolled off my desk and fell three feet. A top gun popped off but that was really all the damage. It recalls vehicles from Aliens and Starship Troopers – movies where we had to have lots of armor and big guns. The front opens up into a ramp, allowing the buggy to roll in and act as the command center.

The mech has a lot going on, including pose-able toes (of all things). It is a bit squat, but that allows it to fit in the back of the lab. Instead of arms, the mech is packing a couple of big cannons. Anyone who has taken the time to do the Robots Master Builder Academy will recognize the design elements. Ball joints and clickable turn table are standard fair at this point. When the lab is ready to roll, the mech takes a seat (literally) and spins around the waist to provide cover fire.

The designers made use of a lot of stickers (not numbered like the ones in the Swarm Interceptor), but they really add to the look and feel of the lab. The bug splatters on the cockpit are a nice touch.

While there are no amazing building techniques, this set is still a lot of fun to build. When all three pieces are combined, the set looks very impressive. There is a lot of playability here as well.

When done you have a solid battlewagon which is ready to roll over the scorpion. The Vermin Vaporizer looks very impressive sitting next to the rest of the line or as part of a larger Space display.

There are three minifigs in this set, including Chuck Stonebreaker and his robot sidekick on the heroes side, and an alien buggiod for the bad guy. The good guys are white and green, matching the overall color theme of the set.

Chuck’s head is double sided, giving a smile or a breathing mask. He has printing on both the front and back of his chest and on the tops of his legs. He’s fairly generic when compared to the other human’s in this line.

His robot sidekick is also in green, and comes with a cool shoulder piece that is showing up in the Series 9 Collectible Minifigure line. The robot head is also fairly new and has some printing on it to bring out the highlights. The same mold is used for the robot in the Space Swarmer set.

The robot’s weapons are very interesting: a oval shield (as found with Gungans) and an energy blade gun that uses what I believe is a new clear blue blade piece.

The alien looks like some type of hybrid bug-alien creature. His head is also printed, as well as the torso (front and back) and legs. Nondescript, but buggy enough to work with the theme.

The set comes with one of the big purple cocoons which the aliens use to capture their foes. This technique seems to be done to death by now. We’ve seen it in most LEGO Space sets since the Mars Mission stuff in 2007.

Otherwise there are some nice big pieces and several side connecting bricks and plates. These are always useful when building and come in a neutral gray.

This set get’s a buy recommendation. It’s a lot of fun to build, and has some great play features built right in.

]]>https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/review-vermin-vaporizer-70704/feed/1draddog70704_alt570704_alt370704_alt270704_alt4Review: An Unexpected Gathering (#79003)https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/review-an-unexpected-gathering-79003/
https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/review-an-unexpected-gathering-79003/#respondMon, 12 Nov 2012 05:19:05 +0000http://clutchpower.wordpress.com/?p=273The Hobbit Trilogy hits movie theaters in December, and LEGO is releasing a run of Hobbit based sets. One of the premier sets, showed first at San Diego Comic Con, is #79003 – An Unexpected Gathering also known as Bag End. This is a larger set, running $69 for 652 pieces, and includes 6 minifigs. While the set is suppose to release at the end of November, we found one at our local Fred Meyer and rushed home to build it.

Read on for the details!

Co-Build Rating: 3/5

As is becoming LEGO’s standard, this set comes in four numbered bags, with 2 instruction books. While this usually makes co-building slightly easier, for Bag End it meant that one of us had to work on the roof and the other the house. There are a lot of mini-figs to build for this set, but you do a couple per bag. Even the furnishings were somewhat reliant on the house being built. You can build this with someone else, but it’s tough.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

This set has a lot going for it. The mini-figs are really nice, there is some interesting use of slopes to convey a natural design and lots of cool pieces.

Of the 6 mini-figs in this set, Gandalf the Grey is the only one with bendable legs. This is odd as the set has a table and the dwarves and Hobbit can’t technically “sit”. I believe Gandalf is the same from the LOTR LEGO set Gandalf Arrives. Bilbo is okay, though I’m not excited about the figure. Balin the Dwarf has a new beard/hair piece which is destined to be used on a Highfather mod (DC Comics, New Gods). Dwalin is pretty cool, the head has come great printing on it – his hammer is also pretty nice. Bofur the Dwarf comes with a new heard piece, a crazy looking hat. Bonbur, the last dwarf, comes with a new hair/chest piece. There are a lot of cool mini-fig parts here.

There is a lot of green in this set, as you can tell. The outside is well done, using a variety of green slopes to make an organic shell that represents Bag End and it’s presence in a hill. The windows and door are very representative of the books, being big circles. This leads to several pieces that I don’t recognize and believe to be new.

The first is a 4×4 round plate in clear. Unlike part 60474, the middle is a big hole. There are also 4 sand brown rings of the same type. The large round, green door is a modified version of part 6177, Tile 8 x 8 Round with 2 x 2 Center Studs. Sam’s favorite piece is the 1×2 block molded to look like bricks.

The table is well stocked with Hobbit food, and Bilbo’s book has a prominent place in-front of the window. The room also has Bilbo’s maps, a shovel, and some nice shelves. The interior of Bag End is a bit crowded with so many mini-figs, but I think that is consistent with the book.

Overall the set is very bright, and has a lot of cool parts. I recommend it if you are a fan of the book or the upcoming movies.

]]>https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/review-an-unexpected-gathering-79003/feed/0draddog79003-1Making LEGO Universe videohttps://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/making-lego-universe-video/
https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/making-lego-universe-video/#respondFri, 02 Nov 2012 17:52:47 +0000http://clutchpower.wordpress.com/?p=269One year ago, LEGO announced it’s decision to end LEGO Universe, it’s popular MMO for kids. As I’ve mentioned I was the Community Manager for LU (known as “Elementron”). One of the (many) amazing people I worked with, Gorfunblot, just posted this YouTube video. Look carefully and you will see images of upcoming sets and features that were planned for the game but will now never see the light of day.

Gorfunblot, at one point, was a member of my amazing team – the best Community Management team that has ever come together! It is cool to see the memories and sad to realize what could have been.

]]>https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/making-lego-universe-video/feed/0draddogBrickCon 2012 – Day 3 Wrap Uphttps://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/brickcon-2012-day-3-wrap-up/
https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/brickcon-2012-day-3-wrap-up/#respondSun, 07 Oct 2012 05:39:15 +0000http://clutchpower.wordpress.com/?p=264Today we managed to attend a LEGO CUUSOO panel, talk about mini-fig customization, and even participate in a couple of events include a Team Relay build! Capping it off, we attended the award ceremony to see who won what!

We have built most of the LEGO CUUSOO sets (with the exception of the rare, Japanese only Shinkai 6500 Submarine) so it was very interesting to hear how CUUSOO has grown. The one thing that jumped out at me was how quickly the Minecraft project hit 10,000 submissions and started it’s way on becoming a set. Both LEGO CUUSOO and Minecraft were very top of my mind when I worked on LEGO Universe.

Speaking of LU, it seemed like there were subtle hints left and right – and the first was not so subtle. The LU digital design team built a race track for my Communities Team to take to various events – something which added a game to our booth. When the LU studio was closed down, I asked if I could take the track, and it came home with me. I had let the BrickCon team know I had it, and we found a way to include it in the Brick Built Derby this afternoon. It was great to see the track in use, hear people mention how much fun they had in LEGO Universe, and marvel at the craftsmen of Duane and Joel. Sam also raced a car, but the heavier ones did better than her light but speedy Seaweed Fly.

The Mini-fig customization panel was interesting. My wife use to paint prototypes for some collectible miniature games, and she was very interested to see that the same techniques apply. Maybe I can get her to paint Sam and I some Tron mini-figs.

We participated in two competitions today. The first was a team relay build. The set was the Tripod Invader, which you would not think as a set that needed a team to build. Unlike this blog, where we build together, in the Relay Team Build you build one at time and tag off on certain page numbers. My team consisted of my wife and two of our friends. While I thought we had a winning strategy, we just were not as fast as some of the others.

The other event I participated in was Build in a Bag. Some LEGO sets come in one bag, and someone came up with the idea of building the set without opening the bag. The contest has now evolved so that you dump all the parts into a Ziploc bag and build. In this contest we had to build the LEGO board game Magma Monster. I thought i was doing pretty well for awhile, until I had to get the little horns into the Magma Monster’s hands and back. At that point it was all over. People did manage to build the sets though.

We spent time in the exhibit hall, now open to the public, admiring everyone’s completed work. To cap off the day we took in the Award’s Ceremony and got to see who won what. There were many impressive builds and I can’t imagine how hard it was for the judges.

Tomorrow is a fairly light day, which should include Best in Show and People’s Choice.

]]>https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/brickcon-2012-day-3-wrap-up/feed/0draddogIMG_0530BrickCon 2012 – Day 2 Wrap Uphttps://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/brickcon-2012-day-2-wrap-up/
https://clutchpower.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/brickcon-2012-day-2-wrap-up/#commentsSat, 06 Oct 2012 05:47:43 +0000http://clutchpower.wordpress.com/?p=259Day 2 is in the bag, and boy are our feet tired! We saw some amazing MOCs today, including the finished 14 foot LEGO Space Needle. Simply incredible. That was just the start of the day!

Current contender for best in show is Alice’s Hogwarts castle. This castle takes up 4 or 5 long tables by itself and features every recognizable scene from the Harry Potter boxes. The tests in the Sorcerer’s Stone? All there. Lupin and Harry talking on the bridge? That’s there to. Dumbledoor’s observatory when Draco blasts him is there too. She worked in “paintings” that are brick built of mini-figures. It’s simply incredible.

There are lots of great other MOCs obviously. You can find pictures of a lot of the builds in our Flickr account.

During the opening ceremonies, LEGO announced the 10937 Batman Arkham Asylum Breakout set which releases in January. It’s fairly incredible to see up front. You can at least hear the Designer Video in my shaky-cam recording from the open ceremonies.

After that, me and my three girls attended a discussion about the role of girls in LEGO and how to get more girls to play with LEGO. This, of course, also included a discussion about the LEGO Friends line. It was interesting to hear how many woman got into LEGO due to a husband or brother, but continue with it.

From there I competed in a Speed Build competition, with my girls rooting me on. While I wasn’t first (or even in the top 10) I think I got brownie points for blasting Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” from my iPhone while playing.

I also judged the Master Build competition. This is an event where competitors are given the same set (or in this case 2 sets) and asked to build an unrelated theme from the parts. I have to admit there were some very clever ideas and some great visual stories.

From there it was to the Keynote to hear two great speakers talk about LEGO Friends (again) and what it means to be an AFOL.

It’s been a super long day, and I know the girls are glad to be asleep.

Keep watching #brickcon on Twitter and make sure to follow us @clutchpower.